Dr. Alastair Santhouse is a consultant psychiatrist and author with over 20 years of experience in the field. He has worked at both Guy’s Hospital and the Maudsley Hospital in London, treating a wide range of mental health conditions.

His clinical expertise includes the psychological impact of physical illness and persistent physical symptoms, as well as more typical psychiatric conditions such as depression, anxiety disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), and adjustment disorders.

Dr. Santhouse is the author of Head First: A Psychiatrist's Stories of Mind and Body (2021), and No More Normal: Mental Health in an Age of Over-Diagnosis (2025).

Find out more about Dr. Santhouse here - https://www.alastairsanthouse.com/

Interviewed by Dr. Alex Curmi. Dr. Alex is a consultant psychiatrist and a UKCP registered psychotherapist in-training.

If you would like to invite Alex to speak at your organisation please email alexcurmitherapy@gmail.com with "Speaking Enquiry" in the subject line.

Alex is not currently taking on new psychotherapy clients, if you are interested in working with Alex for focused behaviour change coaching , you can email - alexcurmitherapy@gmail.com with "Coaching" in the subject line.

Check out The Thinking Mind Blog on Substack: https://open.substack.com/pub/thinkingmindblog/p/thinking-mind-blog-big-thoughts-edition?r=1cn09u&utm_medium=ios

Give feedback here - thinkingmindpodcast@gmail.com Follow us here: Twitter @thinkingmindpod Instagram @thinkingmindpodcast

Dr. Patte Randal is a doctor trained in psychiatry, now retired from practice after working for over 30 years in mental health. She has lived experience of recovery from psychosis, and has told her story publicly in many contexts, including her published book, Finding Hope in the Lived Experience of Psychosis: Reflections on Trauma, Use of Power, and Re-visioning Psychiatry - co-authored with Dr. Josephine Stanton.

For more resources on mental health recovery from Patte and her colleages visit:

https://thegiftbox.lovable.app/

https://www.talkthatheals.org

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=haQvxyw4_9g

Patte's book on Amazon: https://tinyurl.com/bdee66yz

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Interviewed by Dr. Alex Curmi. Dr. Alex is a consultant psychiatrist and a UKCP registered psychotherapist in-training.

If you would like to invite Alex to speak at your organisation please email alexcurmitherapy@gmail.com with "Speaking Enquiry" in the subject line.

Alex is not currently taking on new psychotherapy clients, if you are interested in working with Alex for focused behaviour change coaching , you can email - alexcurmitherapy@gmail.com with "Coaching" in the subject line.

Check out The Thinking Mind Blog on Substack: https://open.substack.com/pub/thinkingmindblog/p/thinking-mind-blog-big-thoughts-edition?r=1cn09u&utm_medium=ios

Give feedback here - thinkingmindpodcast@gmail.com Follow us here: Twitter @thinkingmindpod Instagram @thinkingmindpodcast

Marieke Bigg is an author of fiction and nonfiction in the areas of women’s health, mental health, and the history of science. She holds a PhD in sociology from the University of Cambridge where her research focused on the debates on human embryo research in Britain. She is currently also training as a psychotherapist and works as a peer support coordinator and client liaison at the mental health charity Mind. Her most recent book is No Such Thing As Normal: Disorders, Diagnoses and the Limits of Psychiatry.

Interviewed by Dr. Alex Curmi. Dr. Alex is a consultant psychiatrist and a UKCP registered psychotherapist in-training.

If you would like to invite Alex to speak at your organisation please email alexcurmitherapy@gmail.com with "Speaking Enquiry" in the subject line.

Alex is not currently taking on new psychotherapy clients, if you are interested in working with Alex for focused behaviour change coaching , you can email - alexcurmitherapy@gmail.com with "Coaching" in the subject line.

Check out The Thinking Mind Blog on Substack: https://open.substack.com/pub/thinkingmindblog/p/thinking-mind-blog-big-thoughts-edition?r=1cn09u&utm_medium=ios

Give feedback here - thinkingmindpodcast@gmail.com Follow us here: Twitter @thinkingmindpod Instagram @thinkingmindpodcast

What if you finally had a road map to your psychology?

This week Alex shares a talk he gave at the MRC institute at Imperial College - Personality: How the Science of Who We Are Can Help Us Lead Better Lives.

This talk describes how we can define personality, why its useful to have an understand of personality for career, relationships and quality of life, how personality affects our political leanings and much more.

This lecture is also available on youtube:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4yI1EJfP1zg

Dr. Alex Curmi is a consultant psychiatrist and a UKCP registered psychotherapist in-training.

Alex's TedX talk: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5JvG10zQups&t=52s

If you would like to invite Alex to speak at your organisation please email alexcurmitherapy@gmail.com with "Speaking Enquiry" in the subject line.

Alex is not currently taking on new psychotherapy clients, if you are interested in working with Alex for focused behaviour change coaching , you can email - alexcurmitherapy@gmail.com with "Coaching" in the subject line.

Check out The Thinking Mind Blog on Substack: https://open.substack.com/pub/thinkingmindblog/p/thinking-mind-blog-big-thoughts-edition?r=1cn09u&utm_medium=ios

Give feedback here - thinkingmindpodcast@gmail.com Follow us here: Twitter @thinkingmindpod Instagram @thinkingmindpodcast

Dr Joe Oliver is a consultant clinical psychologist and founder of Contextual Consulting, an organisation providing training, supervision and therapy in acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT).

He is also an associate professor and overall programme director for the University College London CBT for Severe Mental Health Problems post graduate programme.

He has written 6 ACT books, and has his own Youtube channel dedicated to discussing ACT and related topics.

Interviewed by Dr. Alex Curmi. Dr. Alex is a consultant psychiatrist and a UKCP registered psychotherapist in-training.

If you would like to invite Alex to speak at your organisation please email alexcurmitherapy@gmail.com with "Speaking Enquiry" in the subject line.

Alex is not currently taking on new psychotherapy clients, if you are interested in working with Alex for focused behaviour change coaching , you can email - alexcurmitherapy@gmail.com with "Coaching" in the subject line.

Check out The Thinking Mind Blog on Substack: https://open.substack.com/pub/thinkingmindblog/p/thinking-mind-blog-big-thoughts-edition?r=1cn09u&utm_medium=ios

Give feedback here - thinkingmindpodcast@gmail.com Follow us here: Twitter @thinkingmindpod Instagram @thinkingmindpodcast

Dr. Elaine Hunter is a Consultant Clinical Psychologist who has worked with Depersonalisation and Derealisation Disorder since 1999. She has conducted research into improving psychological treatment of the condition and worked clinically to try to help many people with the condition.

In March 2019 she set up The Depersonalisation Clinic to allow her freedom to see a wider range of clients. She is a founding member of Unreal - a charity dedicated to helping individuals with Depersonalisation and Derealisation. In the last few years she has collaborated with many involved with Unreal in trying to raise awareness of DPDR as well as improving access to treatment and increasing research funding.

You can find out more about Unreal here - https://www.unrealcharity.com/

Interviewed by Dr. Alex Curmi. Dr. Alex is a consultant psychiatrist and a UKCP registered psychotherapist in-training.

If you would like to invite Alex to speak at your organisation please email alexcurmitherapy@gmail.com with "Speaking Enquiry" in the subject line.

Alex is not currently taking on new psychotherapy clients, if you are interested in working with Alex for focused behaviour change coaching , you can email - alexcurmitherapy@gmail.com with "Coaching" in the subject line.

Check out The Thinking Mind Blog on Substack: https://open.substack.com/pub/thinkingmindblog/p/thinking-mind-blog-big-thoughts-edition?r=1cn09u&utm_medium=ios

Give feedback here - thinkingmindpodcast@gmail.com Follow us here: Twitter @thinkingmindpod Instagram @thinkingmindpodcast

This week Alex goes on the the Lively Minds Podcast to chat to hosts Will and Ellie. They take a deep dive into anti-depressants and SSRIs (Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors), which is the most commonly prescribed form of antidepressant in the UK.

They discuss what we know about the effectiveness of SSRIs, what we don't, and why there is so much debate about their use.

You can check out Lively Minds on Apple, Spotify and every major podcast platform:

https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/lively-minds-the-uk-mental-health-podcast/id1670147948

Dr. Alex Curmi is a consultant psychiatrist and a UKCP registered psychotherapist in-training.

If you would like to invite Alex to speak at your organisation please email alexcurmitherapy@gmail.com with "Speaking Enquiry" in the subject line.

Alex is not currently taking on new psychotherapy clients, if you are interested in working with Alex for focused behaviour change coaching , you can email - alexcurmitherapy@gmail.com with "Coaching" in the subject line.

Check out The Thinking Mind Blog on Substack: https://open.substack.com/pub/thinkingmindblog/p/thinking-mind-blog-big-thoughts-edition?r=1cn09u&utm_medium=ios

Give feedback here - thinkingmindpodcast@gmail.com Follow us here: Twitter @thinkingmindpod Instagram @thinkingmindpodcast

Shreevatsa Nevatia is an independent journalist. He has worked as the editor of National GeographicTraveller, and has written for the NationHindustan Times, and the Mumbai Mirror and Outlook. He is the author of How to Travel Light: My Memories of Madness and Melancholia, which among other things describes Shreevata's experiences coming to terms with a diagnosis of bipolar disorder in his early twenties.

Interviewed by Dr. Alex Curmi. Dr. Alex is a consultant psychiatrist and a UKCP registered psychotherapist in-training.

If you would like to invite Alex to speak at your organisation please email alexcurmitherapy@gmail.com with "Speaking Enquiry" in the subject line.

Alex is not currently taking on new psychotherapy clients, if you are interested in working with Alex for focused behaviour change coaching , you can email - alexcurmitherapy@gmail.com with "Coaching" in the subject line.

Check out The Thinking Mind Blog on Substack: https://open.substack.com/pub/thinkingmindblog/p/thinking-mind-blog-big-thoughts-edition?r=1cn09u&utm_medium=ios

Give feedback here - thinkingmindpodcast@gmail.com Follow us here: Twitter @thinkingmindpod Instagram @thinkingmindpodcast